A Shinobi's Life
by Aonami
Summary: A shinobi's life could be short, too short for some. AU-ish, Naruto/Sakura.


** A/N:** Hello! This is my first published story. It's AUish, where nothing bad really happened and where Naruto is the Hokage. If you read, please take the time to give my feedback and constructive criticism, I would be very happy indeed if you did! Also, I have a terrible feeling that the characters are OOC so if they are, please let me know.

** Disclaimer:** Naruto does **_not_** belong to me, but to Masashi Kishimoto.

**OoOoOoO**

There was a soft knock on the door and Naruto lifted his head. "Come in." He called, placing the pen he had been writing with down carefully on his worn wooden desk.

The door opened to reveal two young teenagers – maybe about 14 or 15 years old – with hitai-ates and, what he presumed to be, their sensei right behind them. Nothing would be out of the ordinary if it weren't for the grim, dampened and angry aura around the sensei and the almost hollow looks reflected in each of the teens' eyes. "Yes?" Naruto prodded gently, remembering the team now. Recently the third teen had passed away during one of their missions. The blond Hokage's eyes softened and he fought the urge to look away.

It was the sensei who spoke for the team. "We would-" He paused at once when one of his students trembled slightly, obviously holding back tears. However, the man continued, his voice slightly hushed and forced. "We need a-" His words died in his throat, it seemed, and he clamped his eyes shut, looking away from Naruto. "Hokage-sama, our team is in need of another member." He kept his head low and his voice had come out in a quickened manner. The Hokage nodded, still with soft eyes.

"Of course." The man said from behind his desk. He wanted to say something else, but he knew that the meaningless comforts would fall on deaf ears. The teens' sensei gave a quick bow as did his students and then they left, closing the door gently to not disturb their Hokage anymore.

Naruto pursed his lips, briefly, a slight fire in his eyes, before sighing and bowing his head. The team… they were just _kids_… How- the Hokage shook his head a bit and picked up where he left off in his work.

The paperwork was an excellent distraction for wandering thoughts.

**OoOoOoO**

It was well into the night when Naruto had completed his work. He was just barely awake and his eyelids drooped ever so often before shooting open. The rest of the day was uneventful, but his mind kept going back to those teenagers and their utterly hollow yet devastated eyes.

Naruto sighed for the umpteenth time that day and entered his warm home, not even bothering to call out, warmly, "Tadaima!" to his most-likely waiting wife. She was probably asleep by then anyways.

**OoOoOoO**

Sakura felt her husband's chakra a mile away and so she lay, drifting between the wonderful world of sleep and boring consciousness, waiting for him to join her in bed so she could feel his arms around her in a comforting embrace. Usually, they almost never said those sweet nothings that would normally pass between husband and wife because they could communicate with gestures and looks. Sakura liked to think that this brought them closer.

However, even half-asleep, she noticed something off about Naruto as he slipped beneath the covers and brought her into a slightly clingy but distant embrace. She didn't say anything though, even as he nuzzled her neck affectionately.

A minute passed but Sakura couldn't sleep. She knew that he was awake too. The woman turned to face him, pressing their foreheads together and nuzzling his nose. She got a half-hearted kiss on the cheek in response.

Frowning slightly, Sakura brought Naruto closer, a way of asking if he was ok, and sighed quietly as he tightened his hold on her slightly, silently saying he was fine. She decided to try a different approach and broke the silence with a whispered question. "Why'd you get home so late?" She couldn't see his face but felt him tense slightly. Her worry heightened.

It was a while before Naruto answered his wife, and when he did his voice was just barely above a whisper. "Paperwork." His breath ghosted over her exposed shoulder and Sakura fought back a shiver.

Silence ensued and Sakura decided that she'd have to ask to get answers from him. Obviously Naruto was a bit aloof and closed off. "What happened?" Sakura felt Naruto tense once more and suddenly he was placing feather-light kisses up Sakura's neck before finally giving her a quick peck on the lips. Sakura pulled away with a quick, disapproving cluck of her tongue. She gave him a meaningful look but he was persistent and just snuggled up to her, though not close enough that she couldn't see his face, and closed his eyes. A moment passed and Sakura narrowed her eyes before clucking her tongue once more. Naruto cracked a tentative eye open and they had a brief, silent conversation until Naruto opened both eyes, sighed and buried his face in the delicate curve of his wife's neck. Sakura didn't prod anymore, she knew that he was going to speak, and so she was patient.

When Naruto's voice broke the silence, it was slightly muffled and not too loud nor too low. It was steady and almost robotic. "This afternoon, a team came to my office." He tried to fight back a shudder but failed. He tightened his hold on his wife just barely and Sakura pretended not to notice. There was a period of silence, disrupted by a whisper. "I… Sakura, I remembered them. They lost a teammate not too long ago. I remember that boy… He-" Naruto suddenly stopped, finding it hard to keep his eyes from getting misty and talk at the same time. Sakura noticed with a slight start that it was one of the days where he remembered how delicate and short a Shinobi's life could be.

More silence. It was longer now, drawn out until Sakura had to squeeze her husband before he could continue. She debated whether to comfort him or not, but decided that he could collect himself. He was very prideful, and stubborn.

"They came to request a new member. Sakura… their eyes were so-so _dead_. And their sensei's face-" He tightened his grip on his wife. "He was so – _hate-filled_. I could practically feel his killing-intent. But he…" Naruto shook his head a bit and breathed deeply. "Sakura… if we ever have children…" His sentence hung in the air, making Sakura feel slightly anxious. "Please, _please_ promise me that we'll try to talk them out of becoming ninja. I don't want them to look like that. Or you." Sakura felt him swallow and she didn't answer because she knew that he didn't want one. So she did the next thing that came to mind, she placed a soft yet tender kiss to his lips that just screamed '_I LOVE YOU'_ and let her eyelids close. Naruto brought her closer and soon the couple succumbed to a thankfully dreamless sleep.

When Naruto woke up the following day, he paused as he got dressed to swoop down and kiss his slumbering wife. It was a silent thank you and a good bye that didn't go unnoticed by Sakura. As the blond gently closed the door to their bedroom, Sakura let a smile curl her lips and she snuggled into their bed, enjoying the lingering scent of her husband.


End file.
